Bethel Volleyball Loses Five-Set Thriller to No. 9 Oklahoma Wesleyan
The Bethel College volleyball team moves to 1-1 in conference play after narrowly losing to the Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles.
Bethel College (BC) volleyball took on No. 9 Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OKWU). OKWU was heavily favored against the Threshers in the pregame analysis. Setter Sydney Collins and outside hitter Evelyn Rohrberg consistently rank among the national leaders in assists and kills for OKWU.
“We watched film and took note of their tendencies. They have the No. 1 attacker in the country right now, so we knew we’d need to manage her,” said coach Adrianna Leake. “They’re a super well-balanced team with the top setter in the country too, so we did a lot of defensive prep to make sure we could slow their attack.”
OKWU took the first set 25-16 after a slow start for the Threshers. It seemed as though OKWU might take the next two sets to make a clean sweep. However, Bethel responded in the next set, winning by a close score of 26-24. With energy building in the gym, Bethel seemed to have momentum for the rest of the match.
OKWU came back firing and took the third set 25-14. The Threshers would respond by holding the Eagles in the fourth set 25-23. The match went to a decisive fifth set, where Bethel appeared calm and collected. The teams traded points with blocks, aces, digs, and powerful kills, bringing the score to 14-14. After a series of intense rallies, Oklahoma Wesleyan ultimately secured the win.
It was a disappointing loss, as the Threshers pushed a top-10 nationally ranked team to five sets. Outside hitter Cameron Offerle finished with 26 kills and 11 digs.
“During the game I was having so much fun. It was really exciting but also intense —just high energy throughout the whole game,” said Offerle, a junior from Spearville. “I think we’ll be great after this. It was a loss to our record, but we learned a lot of things, and we played really well, so it didn’t really feel that big of a loss.”
The Threshers are now 1-1 in conference play. Their next match is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 1, at Sterling College, with a 7 p.m. start time.